How Much Data Does Tiktok Use?
And how does it compare with Instagram or YouTube?
Summary
TikTok, the wildly popular short-form video platform, has taken the world by storm, captivating users with its engaging media and creative expression. With the vast amount of content that’s available, it’s incredibly easy to spend hours just scrolling through the app. However, have you ever stopped to consider how much data TikTok uses, especially if you're on a limited data plan or traveling internationally?
While TikTok is great for getting your fix of entertainment or for discovering interesting places and things to do, it also uses its fair share of data. Due to it being a video-first platform, TikTok uses more data than text-based or image-based social apps. This means excessive scrolling and viewing can quickly eat into your data allowance, potentially leading to unexpected charges.
So, how much data does TikTok actually use? Let's dive in and find out, exploring the factors that influence its data consumption and comparing it to other popular social media platforms.
Why Does TikTok’s Data Usage Vary?
The primary driver of data consumption on TikTok is video streaming. On average, a 15-second video on TikTok requires about 4MB of data. While 4MB by itself does not seem like much, your overall usage can quickly snowball depending on key factors like video quality, autoplay settings, and how long you're actively scrolling and engaging with content.
As you scroll through your “For You” page and engage with content, videos are continuously being streamed, and the volume of data used accumulates. Under the default settings, an hour of continuous usage would use an average of 840MB of data, though the exact number could vary depending on the content. That means that if you spent an hour just scrolling through TikTok, it could use up almost 1GB of your data allowance!
To give you a clearer picture, take a look at breakdown of TikTok’s data consumption below:
Factors That Affect TikTok’s Data Consumption
Here are the key factors that influence how much data TikTok uses, so you can better manage your usage and avoid those pesky additional charges:
- Video quality settings: Watching uploaded or live videos in higher resolution (1080p) definitely does look nicer, but it also consumes much more data than lower settings (480p). If you're on a limited data plan, switching to a lower resolution can make a big difference.
- Autoplay and continuous scrolling: TikTok keeps you hooked by automatically loading videos as you scroll. This is great for entertainment but not so great for your data allowance. It can lead to surprisingly high data consumption without you even realizing it.
- Video length and frequency: Those short videos might seem harmless, but watching them continuously for hours can really add up. The longer you scroll and the more videos you watch, the more data you'll use.
- Uploading vs. downloading: It's not just about watching videos; uploading your own creations also consumes data. Uploading a 60-second HD video can use 30 MB or more, so be mindful of that if you're a frequent TikTok creator.
Reduce Data Consumption With These Data Saving Solutions
If you’re a heavy user of TikTok but are constrained by your data allowance, there are numerous solutions you can implement to reduce your data consumption. Here are just a few of these methods:
A) Enable Data Saver Mode TikTok's Data Saver mode is a handy feature that helps you reduce your data consumption while watching videos. It works by lowering the video quality, which means you'll use less data while scrolling through your "For You" page.
Steps:
- Open TikTok
- Head to ‘Settings and Privacy’
- Open Data Saver mode and press ‘Enable’
Do keep in mind that this only works when you're on mobile data, not Wi-Fi. This means that if you're connected to Wi-Fi, TikTok will stream videos in the highest quality regardless of the Data Saver setting.
B) Lower Video Quality Manually To fine-tune your data usage while watching TikToks, you can manually adjust the video quality for each video, giving you direct control over how much data you consume. Here’s how:
Steps:
- When watching a video, tap the "More Options" menu (usually three dots)
- Select a low resolution like 480p or even lower
This method will significantly reduce data consumption, especially if you tend to watch a lot of videos at one go.
C) Limit App Usage Time Sometimes, the best way to save data is to simply limit how much time you spend on TikTok. Thankfully, both iPhones and Android phones have built-in features that can help you with this:
Steps:
- iPhones: Use the ‘Screen Time’ function to set daily limits for how long you can use TikTok
- Android Phones: Use the ‘Digital Wellbeing’ function to set app timers that restrict your TikTok usage
This can be a helpful way to manage both your screen time and your overall data consumption, reducing the chances of you exceeding your data allowance.
D) Preload Videos on Wi-Fi If you know you'll be somewhere without internet access, or you want to be extra careful with your data usage, you can download your favorite TikTok videos to watch offline later:
Steps:
- Open the video you want to save
- Tap the "Share" button (it looks like an arrow)
- Select "Save Video”
Do make sure to download videos while you're connected to Wi-Fi so you don't use up your mobile data! And if you're using public Wi-Fi, make sure you brush up on your public Wi-Fi safety knowledge beforehand too.
E) Disable Autoplay One of the biggest data hogs on TikTok is the autoplay feature, as it automatically starts playing the next video as soon as the current one ends. Here’s how to prevent it:
Steps:
- Go to ‘Settings and Privacy’
- Select ‘Accessibility’
- Turn off ‘Auto-Play Next Video’
By disabling autoplay, you gain more control over your data usage and can avoid those unexpected data charges.
Monitoring Your TikTok Data Usage
Keeping an eye on how much data TikTok is using is essential for staying within your data limits and avoiding unexpected charges. Here's how you can monitor your TikTok data consumption on both iPhones and Android devices:
- iPhone Users:
- Go to ‘Settings’
- Tap on ‘Cellular’
- Scroll down to find TikTok and view its data usage
- Android Users:
- Go to ‘Settings’
- Tap on ‘Network and Internet’
- Select ‘Data Usage’
- Find TikTok to track its mobile data usage
Enable Data Warnings on Your Device
To help you stay within your data budget, consider enabling data warnings on your device. This allows you to set a mobile data limit and receive notifications when you're approaching or exceeding that limit. This approach can help you manage your data consumption more effectively and avoid bill shock.
Alternatively, you could also enable the Low Data Mode on your iPhone or Android device to fully ensure that you don’t exceed your data usage.
H2 Data Consumption: TikTok vs Instagram vs YouTube
TikTok isn’t the only platform today that has short-form videos. A close competitor to TikTok would be Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. Let's take a look at how these platforms compare to TikTok when it comes to data consumption:
- Instagram Reels: On default settings, watching Instagram Reels can use about 100MB of data for 5 minutes of usage, which adds up to about 1.2GB per hour, and is roughly 1.5x of TikTok’s consumption.
- YouTube Shorts: On default settings, YouTube Shorts could use about 6MB of data for a 1 minute video, which adds up to approximately 360MB of data for an hour of consumption, significantly less than TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Additionally, if you’re curious to know how much data other types of apps use, take a look at our blogs below:
Estimating Your Data Usage and Identifying a Correct Plan For Your Travels
If you’re traveling, finding a suitable data plan is especially important to help you stay connected with your loved ones and navigate new surroundings. A good starting point for selecting the right plan is to check your data consumption.
Simply navigate to your device settings and check how much data each of your apps use. This can give you valuable insights into your data consumption patterns, which you can easily extrapolate and refer to when deciding how much data you need for your travels.
However, if that’s too much trouble, you can also make use of Nomad's data calculator to help you identify a plan suitable for your needs. This tool simplifies the process by providing personalized recommendations based on your travel destination, duration, and planned activities.
Ready to explore the world with confidence and stay connected wherever you go? Get started with a Nomad eSIM today and enjoy seamless connectivity on your next adventure!
